Procleix Ultrio transcription-mediated amplification vs. serological blood screening in south-western Greece.

We present here our overall experience after 27 months of performance of the Procleix Ultrio [HIV-1, hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV)] transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) assay. The aim of this report is to assess the impact of nucleic acid testing (NAT) implementation in blood screening of south-western Greek blood donors. We processed 38,264 units of blood as neat samples with the Procleix Ultrio TMA assay (Chiron/GenProbe, Emeryville/San Diego, CA, USA) between 1 January 2005 and 31 March 2007. NAT results were compared to those obtained from routine serology tests and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Overall, 52 units of blood tested positive for HBV (1.4 per thousand), 8 for HCV (0.2 per thousand) and none for HIV or multiple infections. The yield of TMA was 0.183 per thousand for HBV (7/38 264) and 0 for HCV. The TMA HBV-positive donations were tested for HBV DNA by a quantitative PCR assay and were found negative (below the detection limit of the method, 200 copies/mL). Follow-up testing showed that the TMA HBV-positive donations were positive for anti-hepatitis B core antigen immunoglobulin G antibodies. Implementation of the TMA assay in the individual donation configuration increased HBV detection compared to serological screening or a commonly used quantitative PCR assay. Follow-up studies will determine the impact of NAT implementation in HBV transmission in countries with an intermediate HBV incidence.

Endoscopic sclerotherapy versus variceal ligation in the long-term management of patients with cirrhosis after variceal bleeding. A prospective randomized study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Long-term endoscopic injection sclerotherapy of oesophageal varices prevents rebleeding in patients with cirrhosis surviving an acute variceal bleeding episode. However, this treatment is associated with a substantial complication rate. Endoscopic band ligation is a newly developed technique in an attempt to provide a safer alternative. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of injection sclerotherapy versus variceal ligation in the management of patients with cirrhosis after variceal haemorrhage. METHODS: Seventy-seven patients with cirrhosis who proved to have oesophageal variceal bleeding were studied. After initial control of haemorrhage by sclerotherapy, 40 of the patients were randomly assigned to sclerotherapy and 37 to ligation. Both procedures were performed under midazolam sedation at intervals of 7-14 days until all varices in the distal oesophagus were eradicated or were too small to receive further treatment. RESULTS: The eradication of varices required a lower mean number of sessions with ligation (3.7 +/- 1.9) than with sclerotherapy (5.8 +/- 2.7, p = 0.002). The mean duration of follow-up was similar in both groups (15.6 months +/- 7.3 and 15 +/- 7.4, respectively). The proportion of patients remaining free from recurrent bleeding against time was significantly higher in the ligation group as compared to the sclerotherapy group (chi 2 = 3.86, p = 0.05). Only 13 patients (35%) developed complications in the ligation group as compared to 24 (60%, p = 0.05) in the sclerotherapy group. The mortality rate was similar in both groups (20% and 21%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Variceal ligation is better than sclerotherapy in the long-term management of patients with cirrhosis after variceal haemorrhage which was initially controlled with sclerotherapy.